“For the last 20 years, Fisher House has been there to support our military families in their time of greatest need. We are now stepping up to honor the sacrifices that have been made, and to repay a debt that is truly unpayable,” Fisher said.

"The department has no higher priority than taking care of our service members and their families. Our men and women in uniform must know that the department will always fulfill its responsibilities to them and to their families," Hagel said.

But Congress has responsibilities as well, Hagel added, "and it has abdicated them. ... I once again call on Congress to fulfill its basic responsibilities and restore funding for the federal government."

GOP House leaders said the Pentagon always had the authority to pay the death benefits, because the Pay Our Military Act "ensured that all military payments would be dispersed in the event of a lapse of appropriations. Death gratuities for families of deceased military service members were intended to be included in the bill. This legislation simply provides explicit authority to the Department of Defense to disburse these payments."

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, a Marine veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, told the appropriations committee Wednesday that during his three combat tours he served alongside the men and women affected now by the benefit freeze, getting to know them and their families.

“I sat down with them, I've had dinner with them, and I want to say from the bottom of my heart, I apologize for the shameful act of the administration's lawyers in determining that what we passed last month does not count for paying this debt benefit.

"When the lawyers in the administration made the decision to not count the death benefit, they broke a sacred trust with our U.S. military men and women and those on the front lines. And it is up to us in this Congress to restore that trust for the American people and for our military that we have sent to war and that we have a responsibility for."

House Joint Resolution 91, the Honoring the Families of Fallen Soldiers Act, passed by a vote of 425-0. Resuming those payments as quickly as possible "is certainly the least we can do for those who make the ultimate sacrifice for our country," House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers said in remarks before the vote.

"The reality is we are a nation at war. Wars don’t stop just because our government isn’t functioning properly, nor do our obligations to our soldiers get put on pause while we work to clean things up."

Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-NJ, introduced the bill under a suspension of rules on the eighth day of the government shutdown.

MORENO

Moreno had deployed in June from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., where she previously worked as a clinical staff nurse on a medical surgical unit at Madigan Army Medical Center.

“We are all deeply saddened by the tragic loss of this great American soldier. As our medical family mourns the death of 1st Lt. Jennifer Moreno, our thoughts and prayers are with her family,” said Col. Ramona Fiorey, commander of the medical center.